The giant squid
by ExpectoPatronum777
Summary: Since james was told Lily would rather go out with the Giant Squid than with him, James dresses as the Giant Squid. Short-one shot. All characters and the cursive part belongs to J.wling


A very big, purple blob was moving through the corridors at Hogwarts, forcing everyone to press themselves against the stone walls.

When reaching the charms corridor the boys surrounding the blob became louder and started pointing at a small group of girls standing further down the corridor.

Lily and her friends were waiting for professor Flitwick to start the lesson. They were really early indeed and there were still another twenty minutes until the class started. When hearing a lot of noise at the end of the corridor they looked up and saw what could be nothing else then the marauders. James was wearing a ridiculous purple costume and Lily assumed that this was another of their pranks. Next to her Alice and Marlene laughed loudly, she rolled her eyes at them and sighted, she couldn't understand what was so fascinating with the marauders.

It wasn't until the Marauders were around ten meters away that Lily noticed that James costume had eight arms and looked much like a squid, a little bit too much like a squid.

 _ **A few days ealier:**_

 _The tone of James's voice changed at once to a more pleasant one. "All right, Evans?"_

 _"Leave him alone," she repeated, glaring at James. "What's he done to you?"_

 _"Well, it's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean ..."_

 _Most of the crowd surrounding them laughed with exception of Remus, who had finally looked up from his book, and herself._

 _"You think you're funny. But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone."_

 _"I will if you go out with me, Evans. Go on ... go out with me and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."_

 _Lily says, "I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid."_

"Oh no!" cried Lily quietly as they kept moving towards them.

"What is it, Lils?" Alice asked, still laughing quietly.

"I just remembered something, we need to get away, before they…" she nodded at the marauders "get here."

"What?" Marlene had also turned to Lily now.

"Okay listen, I don't have time to explain but we have to move, now." Lily started walking quickly, hoping that they wouldn't notice her, and before she reached the end of the corridor Marlene and Alice had caught up with her. With Lily in the lead, they walked quickly into the girls' bathroom at the floor below. And not until Lily had made sure the door was locked Marlene spoke.

"Will you tell us what's going on now?"

"Okay, you remember after the defense against the dark arts O. ?" Lily began and when both Alice and Marlene nodded she moved on.

"When I ran away to defend Snape I told James to leave him alone, and he asked me out, as usual…" she made a grimace and rolled her eyes.

Alice laughed a little because Lily had complained about James for almost two years and she was getting so sick of it that it was starting to get funny. Lily looked at her but started where she cut of as if nothing happened.

"…and I might have said that I wouldn't go out with him if it was a choice between him and the giant squid… but I didn't mean it literally!"

Marlene sighed and gave Lily that look that meant she had done something seriously wrong.

"What?" Lily gave her a mad look "just because you've known James since you were like a year old and know exactly how he works."

"If you're saying something like that he takes it as a challenge." Marlene said explanatory.

"You say? I thought he was just walking around school wearing a huge squid costume for fun, oh my god, I'm so stup…" Lily burst out sarcastically but Alice interrupted her angrily.

"Please Lils, it's not our fault that James choose to fall in love with you."

"He's not 'in love' with me, I'm just another girl in the row of girls he want to seduce before we graduates." Lily snorted.

"Do we really need to have this conversation again?" Marlene could sometimes get irritated at Lily for not being able to see James with her normal, loving sight. Ever since their very first day at Hogwarts Lily had had something against all of the Marauders and it was a real wonder that Marlene had managed to stay friend with Both Lily and James. "Seriously Lily, shut up! We don't have time to discuss this _again._ "

"Yeah, you're right." Lily answered her quietly, looking up at the celling, blinking the tears out of her eyes. She hated this side of herself, whenever someone used a sharp tone at her she started crying, sometimes without even knowing why. She didn't want anyone to see, not even Alice and Marlene so she mumbled something unheard and rushed into one of the toilet booths, closing the door behind her.

If she thought that Alice and Marlene, after five years, didn't know her and the weird things she was doing, she was wrong. a few seconds after Lily closed the booth door it opened again and Marlene was standing there, watching her carefully. Then she walked inside and pulled Lily out in the main bathroom area.

"I'm sorry." she said. "I didn't mean to sound so angry."

"I deserved it." Smiled Lily, drying the tears from her eyes with the sleeve of her robe. "You're right, we can't keep discussing the same thing."

Marlene hugged her.

"Eh…I hate to get in between this touching moment but we really need to go." Alice said quietly. But instead of answering Marlene pulled her into the hug too.

"Okay, okay, but seriously, we need to go, Flitwick will kill us." Laughed Alice, breaking free from Marlenes arms.

"Just promise me that you will protect me from being attacked by a giant squid." Lily answered her, breaking free too.

"Promise." Marlene linked arm with her and dragged her out of the bathroom.

When Lily looked at her watch and relished that the lesson started in two minutes she started running with Alice and Marlene following close behind and she though it were somewhat of a miracle when Flitwick hadn't opened the door by the time they reached the charms corridor.

James still wore the squid costume. When the girls entered the corridor he made another attempt to walk up to Lily but Marlene grabbed him by one of the many arms and pushed him into the corner.

"Now is not the time, James." She said, eying him with a serious look.

James stopped smiling and he too got serious

"What, have something happened?"

"No, nothing happened, or maybe it did, I don't know" Marlene babbled without even knowing what she said "The point is, please don't. I love you like a brother James and I know you really like Lily but it's not the time."

"Oh, okay." James suddenly looked gloomy and Marlene boxed his arm loosely.

"But hey, just because it isn't right now doesn't mean it's never right."

"Yeh, well, never mind." Even though James voice still was a step lower than usual he looked a little bit happier when he walked away and joined the Marauders outside of the charms door again.


End file.
